Largely self-taught, Fernández wrote as “the Mexican thinker,” taking this pseudonym from the title of his radical journal, El pensador mexicano (1812). For flouting both the monarchy and the papacy he was imprisoned and excommunicated. His El periquillo sarniento (1816; The Itching Parrot), the first picaresque novel of Spanish America, is a colourful tale that depicts the state of Mexican society in the early 19th century and reflects the ideas of the French Enlightenment and of Jean-Jacques Rousseau on education. He also wrote La Quijotita y su prima (1819; “Miss Quixote and Her Cousin”) and Las noches tristes y días alegres (1823; “Sad Nights and Happy Days”).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.